I couple of weeks ago I went down to Apollo Bay for my quarterly retreat. Every 90 days I head down by myself for two or three days to reflect, think and plan. This is my work desk while I’m there.

There’s no power, no heating, a shower that’s attached to a tree, and best of all, no internet or phone coverage. I drive down a dirt 4WD track to get to our spot. And each year as mobile phone coverage improves, the signal gets a bit further down the track. And I’m terrified of the day when it gets to the bottom and our block will be in range.

Doesn’t make much sense given I could just turn off my phone. But I don’t really trust myself to do that. And part of what works about the retreat is not being connected. Not having anything to respond to.

One of the things I’ve learned from watching Scarlett with her grandmothers is how much she appreciates it. She adores them and one of the reasons is that when they are with her, they are completely with her. They are not doing anything else.

Taking a leaf out of their book, I’ve started turning off my phone when I’m hanging out with Scarlett. So maybe I will be able to turn off my phone at Apollo Bay if that ever becomes necessary.

The other practice I’ve started recently is only checking my emails three times a day. My business manager Cristina didn’t believe me when I told her that’s what I was doing. She asked me on three separate occasions, did I really mean just three times a day. And it’s made a difference (as has Steuart’s suggestion to not check email first thing).

Love to hear your thoughts – what do you think about the power of disconnecting? You can leave them below.